Although information technology-savvy acquisition personnel at DHS have developed customized applications to help them perform their jobs, their efforts have created disjointed levels of service, according to a deputy inspector general.
An incident that may have exposed new security risks inherent in radio frequency identification technology has gained the attention of the Computer Emergency Response Team within DHS.
Science Applications International Corp. has won a contract to assist the Homeland Security Department with assessing risks and solutions for border security.
Management oversight over DHS' U.S. Visit program will be strengthened as it moves to a new directorate on March 31, said Bob Mocny, the program's acting director.
DHS has no clear authority at this time over a $1 billion fund for public safety agency interoperable communications equipment that it has been publicizing as a first responder grant program.
The Homeland Security Department is abandoning the idea of using radio frequency identification tags to track foreign visitors leaving the country because the technology was not proven successful in testing.
As part of its post-Hurricane Katrina overhaul, FEMA is setting up a new National Advisory Council to provide advice to it on all aspects of emergency preparedness and response.
Selecting the "best" technology for a program would be tough enough in a static world, but DHS officials find themselves pushed and pulled by three major forces in the format fights.
